“Parliament is going to go down in history as one of the worst Parliament Ghana has ever had” – Pianim

The 8th Parliament has come under fire from renowned economist Kwame Pianim for failing to exercise due diligence before approving three new taxes.

Mr. Pianim claimed in an interview with JoyNews’ Newsfile monitored by Ghanatodayonline.com that this Parliament will go down in history as one of the worst since it did not properly vet all the borrowing laws before passing them, which resulted in the financial collapse of the nation.

“This Parliament is going to go down in history as one of the worst Parliament we’ve [Ghana] has ever had,” he stated.

He stated that more projects mean more opportunity for people to make money, hence the government is more interested in procurement.

He gave the COCOBOD project as an illustration, where the legislators are still discussing building a new headquarters despite the fact that they have rendered the organization bankrupt. President Akufo-Addo was encouraged by Mr. Pianim to reject the three additional revenue measures.

On April 1, 2021, three revenue measures were approved in an effort to raise $4 billion in internal revenue in order to finish the procedures necessary to obtain a $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.

The adoption of these new regulations has alarmed businesses, trading associations, and some Ghanaians, who fear that they will cause them to fail and leave the nation.

Mr. Pianim thinks that this is the result of Parliament’s lack of careful consideration while drafting the measure, since they ought to have consulted the public and sought clarification before enacting it.

The president’s final option, he said, is to thank the legislature but decline to sign the legislation because it is flawed.

“We anticipate that lawmakers will engage with their constituents, reflect, and pose questions. Our final hope, he said, was for the President to say, “Thank you, Parliament, but I will not sign this bill because it is not good. They simply don’t; they just pass them.

Source: Ghanatodayonline.com